Medical marijuana access in Ohio will more than double by next spring

The variety of medical marijuana dispensaries in Ohio will develop twofold by subsequent spring.

Driving the information: State officers chosen 70 recipients of latest marijuana licenses via a lottery final month, greater than doubling Ohio’s present 58 dispensaries.

Why it issues: Extra dispensaries imply higher entry for the 142,000 Ohioans registered with the state’s Medical Marijuana Management Program.

Zoom in: 17 counties will obtain their first dispensary. That features Delaware County, to be positioned at 26 Moore St. in Delaware.

• 9 new places will open in Franklin County, bringing us to fifteen complete.

What’s subsequent: House owners should construct areas in compliance with state legal guidelines and rules earlier than they’ll open. They’ve till February 2023 to go an inspection.

State of play: Ohio lawmakers created the medical marijuana program in 2016, and it went stay three years later.

In the meantime, legalization of leisure marijuana has confronted a number of roadblocks.

• Republican leaders have opposed it and there are steep election hurdles to position the difficulty earlier than voters.
• Researchers from Ohio State estimate legalization might web the state as much as $375 million in annual tax income, the Ohio Capital Journal experiences.
• Advocates plan to strive for the November 2023 poll, per the AP.